Portable ink fountain



July 17, 1956 c. w. CHASE PORTABLE INK FOUNTAIN 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 23, 1952 REVERSE ROTATION STANDARD no-mnon covuo Yk Qkfod'tev Choke F ,Wm (ATTORNEY C. W. CHASE PORTABLE INK FOUNTAIN July 17, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 23, 1952 wvn-sm-rok, Gov-cor Walter Ckau'e M-rwaruoey July 17, 1956 c. w. CHASE 2,754,753

PORTABLE INK FOUNTAIN Filed Sept. 23, 1952 4 SheetsSheet 3 INVBN'TOM Clowao W Walte Ch e July 17,.1956

C- W. CHASE PORTABLE INK FOUNTAIN 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 25. 1952 United States Patent PORTABLE INK FOUNTAIN Corson Walter Chase, Oak Park, 11]., assignor to The Goss Printing Press Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application September 23, 1952, Serial No. 311,110

8 Claims. (Cl. 101--350) The present invention relates to ink fountains for printing presses, and more particularly to the type of ink fountain referred to as portable.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel portable ink fountain capable of operating in a printing unit during both standard and reverse rotation. It is a more particular object of the invention to provide a novel mechanism for bodily moving the transfer roller of a portable fountain between alternate positions without affecting the operation of the fountain. It is another object to provide a portable ink fountain for a reversible printing unit, which is easily adjusted for stable operation in two alternate positions, and which is easily applied and removed.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon reading the detailed description and upon referring to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic end view of a printing unit showing the various ink drums and ink rollers and illustrating the position occupied by the novel fountain arrangement during standard rotation.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the position occupied by the fountain during reverse rotation.

Fig. 3 is an end view of an ink fountain constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 3a illustrates the path of movement of the fountain transfer roller in its alternate positions.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear view showing one end of the ink fountain.

Fig. 5 shows the rear supporting block in one condition of adjustment and is taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 5, but shows the block in the alternate position of adjustment.

Fig. 7 shows the supporting block in perspective.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal fragmentary section taken along the line 88 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 shows the eccentric cylinder and the means for clamping it in adjusted position.

Fig. 10 is a section taken along the line 10-10 in Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a section taken along the line 1111' in Fig. 8 and with the eccentric cylinder rotated into its alternate position.

While only a single form of the invention has been described herein, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrated structure but is sufliciently broad as to cover the modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, a press unit is diagrammatically indicated at 20, including the usual plate cylinder 21 and impression cylinder 22. The plate cylinder 21 receives an ink film from an arrangement of ink rollers and ink drums indicated generally at 23. Attention is particularly drawn to an auxiliary ink drum 24 and an ink roller 25 which rotates in contact therewith. As

shown in Fig. 1, the portable ink fountain, indicated at 30, supplies an ink film to the auxiliary ink drum 24.

Included within the ink fountain 30 is a fountain roller 31, a feed roller 32, and a transfer roller 33, the latter being in rolling engagement with the auxiliary ink drum 24 during direct or standard rotation of the press unit. Fig. 2 shows the transfer roller 33 in rolling engagement with the ink roller 25 during reverse rotation of the press unit.

Turning now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the fountain 30 has a trough 34, a knife 35 and a set of adjusting keys 36, for adjusting the position of the knife 35 relative to the fountain roller 31. As is conventional, the transfer roller 33 is rotatively driven by contact with the ink drum 24, and the feed roller 32 is, in turn, in driving contact with the transfer roller. The fountain roller 31 is, however, out of rolling contact with the feed roller 32, and means must be provided for driving the fountain roller at a speed which is a small fraction of the web speed. This is accomplished by coupling together the shaft 32a of the feed roller 32 and the shaft 31a of the fountain roller 31 through a stepdown driving connection. Such driving connection, indicated merely in outline at 37, may consist of a set of worms and gears mounted in a housing clamped to the side of the ink fountain and does not per se form a part of the present invention.

In operation the slowly rotating fountain roller 31 becomes coated with ink to a thickness which is controlled by the knife 35. A portion of this ink is picked'up by the feed roller 32 and is passed to the transfer roller 33 and thence to the ink drum 24. From the ink drum 24 the film is improved in uniformity by a series of rollers and is applied finally to the plate cylinder 21.

In accordance with the present invention means are provided for coupling the ink fountain to the auxiliary ink drum 24 or the ink roller 25, depending upon the direction of rotation of the press unit. To accomplish this, a positioning mechanism 40 is provided under the trough for moving the trough and the rollers therein bodily between the two alternate positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2. To enable rolling contact of the transfer roller 33 in both positions of adjustment, the transfer roller is caused to project upwardly as well as forwardly as indicated at 39.

Prior to discussing the mechanism 40 reference will be made to the mounting surfaces in the press unit and also to the fountain base structure which is seated on such surfaces. As shown in Figs. 3, 4, l0 and 11, I prefer to mount the improved fountain on the part of the press referred to as the knife plate and which is indicated at 41. This surface is accurately machined and serves as a stable reference surface for the fountain. At the forward edge of the knife plate 41 there is a first clamping member 42 in the form of an inwardly inclined bar which may be bolted in place parallel to the roller axis. At the rear of the knife plate 41 is a second clamping member 43 having a forwardly inclined face 44 and a clamping bolt 45.

Referring now to the base of the fountain, it will be noted from the drawings (see especially Fig. 11) that it includes a base plate 50 having supporting legs or pedestals 51, 52. The base plate 50 in the present embodiment is generally trough-shaped, having a forward wall 53 and a rear wall 54, with the supports 51, 52 serving to rigidify the walls with respect to the lower portion of the base plate. The legs 51, 52 have sloping forward and rear surfaces which together form a dovetail and which enables secure clamping between the forward and rear clamping members when the bolt 45 is tightened. It will be understood that similar legs 51, 52 and similar clamping means are provided at the opposite end of the base plate, although not shown in the drawings.

In accordance with one of the more detailed aspects of the invention, an eccentric mechanism 60 is provided between the base and the trough of the ink fountain for causing the trough and the transfer roller 33 therein to move in an orbital path between the ink drum 24 and the ink roller 25. As will be covered in detail at a later point the orbital path is so located that the transfer roller 33 moves into contact with the ink drum 24 and roller 25 more or less radially with respect to each of them.

It is a related feature of the present invention that a separate mechanism 60 is provided at each end of the ink fountain for raising the fountain along its forward edge, while a single centrally located support is provided along the rear edge of the fountain. The advantages of this an rangernent will also be discussed in detail. It will SUfilCB for the present to say that this provides a tripod mounting which is not only stable, but which enables the transfer roller 33 to be conveniently and accurately adjusted into parallelism with either the ink drum 24 or the roller 25. Since the eccentric mechanism 60 and its associated elements are substantially duplicated at each end of the ink fountain, only one of such mechanisms has been shown in the drawings.

The eccentric mechanism 69 to be discussed is shown generally in Fig. 3 and in detail in Figs. 8-11, inclusive. It includes an eccentric cylinder 61 which is mounted in a bushing or journal 62. The bushing 62 is firmly secured to the underside of the trough 34. This may be accomplished as shown by providing bosses 63, 64 integrally formed in the trough and engaged by integral lugs 65', 66, respectively, on the bushing. For the purpose of coupling the eccentric cylinder 61 to the base of the ink fountain, a pair of opposed brackets 70 are provided which are welded or otherwise fastened to the forward wall 53 of the base plate and on opposite sides of a reinforcement 67. At the rear end of the brackets 76 are alined holes 71 which register with a hole 72 eccentrically drilled in the cylinder 61. A bolt 73 inserted into the brackets 79 and cylinder 61 provides a strong pivot between them. And since the brackets 70 are arranged in pairs, the forces applied to the cylinder 61 are balanced.

For the purpose of positively rotating the eccentric cylinder 61 a manually operated worm and worm gear are provided, as shown in Figs. 8 and 10. The worm gear, indicated at 75, is integrally formed on the outer surface of the cylinder 61. The worm gear is engaged by a worm 76. The latter is journaled in opposed legs 77, 7S, respectively which are integrally formed on the bushing 62. Extending rearwardly from the worm 76 is an adjusting shaft 79 which terminates in a square head 80 engageable by an adjusting wrench. It will be apparent that manual rotation of the shaft 79 causes the forward portion of the trough, together with the transfer roller 33, to be swung through an orbital path between the two alternate positions of use. These two positions are indicated in Figs. and 11, respectively.

In order to maintain the cylinder 61 in its adjusted position, a manually operated clamp is provided. In the present instance clamping action is achieved by splitting the bushing or journal 62 along its lower surface between the legs 77, 78. A clamping screw 81 is provided for drawing the legs 77, 78 together so that the bushing 62 squeezes the cylinder 61 in a firm grip. The clamping screw 81 in the present instance is threadedly engaged by a clamping shaft 82, as shown in Fig. 11, and the shaft 82 is extended rearwardly, terminating in a square head 83. The square head 83 is located adjacent the square head 30 for convenience in adjustment. If desired, the cylinder 61 may be grooved, as shown at 84 in Fig. 8 to register with the shaft of the clamping screw 81 and to insure that the cylinder 61. remains centered within the bushing 62.

Having understood the manner in which the forward portion of the trough is supported, attention may now be given to the third point of support located centrally along the rear edge of the trough. In carrying out the invention a pedestal is provided at the rear edge of the trough to support the same firmly in either a raised or lowered position, depending upon whether the transfer roller 25 or the ink drum 24 is engaged. Such support is provided in the present instance by a pivoted block 90, which may be arranged in either a vertical or horizontal position to support the rear edge of the ink trough at two different levels. As shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the block is pivoted to a lug M which is integrally formed in the trough. To support the .rough in the lowered position, the block is positioned as shown in Fig. 5. Support in the upraised position is illustrated in Fig. 6. In both of these positions the block is seated on a rearward extrusion 50a provided in the base plate 59. To maintain the block firmly anchored, the block is engaged by a tongue 93 which is clamped in a hold-down position by a threaded hand wheel 94 (see Fig. 4). The block has two slots 95, 96 formed therein at right angles for receiving the end of the tongue, one of the slots being in the horizontal or active position depending upon the position in which the block is placed.

During standard rotation of the press, which is the condition shown in Fig. l, the trough is lowered so that the transfer roller 33 is in rolling contact with the auxiliary ink drum 24. This results, as shown in the desired counterclockwise rotation of the fountain roller 31. In order to adjust the parallelism of the transfer roller 33 relative to the ink drum 24, the operator need merely loosen the clamp by rotating the clamping shaft 82 at each end of the fountain and then rotate the worm shaft a small amount in one direction or the other. Because of the arrangement of the eccentric mechanism, the movement of the ink fountain and transfer roller 33 takes place along a path of adjustment indicated at 98 in Fig. 3a. It will be noted that this path of adjustment is generally radial with respect to the ink drum 24. The ends of the ink fountain may be adjusted independently, since duplicate adjusting mechanisms are provided at each end. During such adjustment the rear support occupies the position shown in Fig. 5.

Where it is desired to reverse a given press unit, which is the condition illustrated in Fig. 2, the ink fountain is swung bodily away from the ink drum 24 and into contact with the ink roller 25. This is done manually by rotating the worm shafts at each end of the fountain. The eccentric mechanisms 60 then occupy the position shown in Fig. 11. In addition, the adjusting block 90 is changed from the condition illustrated in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6. Since the transfer roller 33 extends upwardly beyond the edge of the fountain end members as shown at 39 in Fig. 3, adequate clearance is provided. When the transfer roller 33 is in its upper position, final adjustment relative to the ink roller 25 may be made, as before, simply by turning the worm shaft at each end of the fountain. Adjusting movement of the fountain takes place along a path of movement indicated at 99 in Fig. 3a which is generally radial with respect to the ink roller 25. Since the adjusting movement is substantially radial in both positions of the fountain, adjustment of the transfer roller to increase or decrease the pressure against drum 24 or roller 25 does not result in skewed contact.

The fountain itself, once adjusted, need not be touched when changing from standard to reverse rotation since the fountain rollers and knife blade are all moved bodily and as a unit. Consequently the changeover may be made quickly and without exercising any high degree of skill.

While the fountain is particularly applicable for transfer between an ink drum and an adjacent ink roller, as set forth in the preambles of the following claims, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that it may be employed with any two rollers in the ink feed path of a printing press which rotate in opposite directions.

By the term fixed centers used in the following claims it is meant that the spacing between the rollers N to" in the fountains remains fixed incident to transfer of the fountain between the two modes of operation illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and provision may, if desired, be made for initial adjustment of the roller spacing at the time of installation or when substituting a roller of slightly different diameter without departing from the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a reversible printing unit having an ink drum and an ink roller rotating adjacent one another in opposite directions, an ink fountain comprising, in combination, an ink trough including a source of ink film and a transfer roller arranged along the first portion of the trough for transferring said ink film from the fountain, means for moving the front portion of the trough bodily between a first position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink drum and a second position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink roller, and means for supporting the rear portion of the trough in alternate positions of elevation generally corresponding to the first and second positions of the transfer roller.

2. For use with a reversible printing unit having an ink drum and an ink roller rotating adjacent one another in opposite directions, an ink fountain comprising, in combination, a base adapted to be stationarily clamped in said press unit, a trough including a fountain roller and a transfer roller rotatably mounted in the trough at a fixed position with respect to one another for conveying an ink film from said fountain, and means interposed between said base and said trough for guiding said trough for bodily movement both horizontally and vertically so that the transfer roller therein is moved between a first position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink drum and a second position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink roller during conditions of direct and reverse operation, respectively, of said printing unit.

3. For use with a reversible printing unit having an ink drum and an ink roller rotating adjacent one another in opposite directions, an ink fountain comprising, in combination, an ink trough including a source of ink film and a transfer roller for transferring said ink film from the fountain, means located along the front edge of said trough for moving the trough bodily between a first position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink drum and a second position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink roller, and means for supporting the rear edge of the trough at an elevation generally corresponding to the front edge thereof to maintain the trough level in both of its positions.

4. For use with a reversible printing unit having an ink drum and an ink roller rotating adjacent one another in opposite directions, an ink fountain comprising, in combination, an ink trough including a source of ink film and a transfer roller arranged adjacent the front edge thereof for transferring said ink film from the fountain, means located at the ends of said trough and generally alined with said transfer roller for supporting the trough and for moving it bodily between a first position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink drum and a second position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink roller, and means at the rear edge of the trough for supporting it centrally at an elevation generally corresponding to the front edge thereof to maintain the trough level in both of its positions.

5. For use with a reversible printing unit having an ink drum and an ink roller rotating adjacent one another in opposite directions, an ink fountain comprising, in combination, an ink trough including a source of ink film and a transfer roller for transferring said ink film from the fountain, said transfer roller being mounted along the front edge of the trough but with its forward and upper surfaces extending clear of said trough, means located along the front edge of said trough for swinging the trough bodily in a generally vertical direction between a first position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink drum and a second position in which the transfer roller is in contact with said ink roller, and means for supporting the rear edge of the trough at an elevation generally corresponding to the forward edge thereof to maintain the trough level in both of its posi tions.

6. For use with a reversible printing unit having an ink drum and an ink roller rotating in opposite directions, an ink fountain comprising in combination, an ink trough having a fountain roller and having a transfer roller arranged adjacent the front edge thereof for transferring ink film from the fountain, said fountain roller and transfer roller being rotatably mounted on fixed centers in said ink fountain and drivingly coupled together, and means for supporting the ink fountain for bodily movement between alternate positions in which the transfer roller is in rolling engagement with said ink drum and said ink roller respectively, said supporting means including a guiding member so arranged that the fountain roller moves between its respective positions in an arcuate path having both horizontal and vertical components.

7. For use with a reversible printing unit having an ink drum and an ink roller rotating in opposite directions, an ink fountain comprising in combination, an ink trough having a fountain roller and having a transfer roller arranged adjacent the front edge thereof for transferring ink film from the fountain, said fountain roller and transfer roller being rotatably mounted on fixed centers in said ink fountain and drivingly coupled together, and means for supporting the ink fountain for bodily movement between alternate positions in which the transfer roller is in rolling engagement with said ink drum and said ink roller respectively, said supporting means including an eccentric so that the fountain roller moves in an arcuate path having both horizontal and vertical com ponents for substantially radial contact with said ink drum and ink roller respectively.

8. A portable ink fountain for use with a reversible printing unit having an ink drum and an ink roller rotating in opposite directions, an ink trough having a fountain roller and having a transfer roller arranged adjacent the front edge thereof for transferring ink film from the fountain, said fountain roller and transfer roller being rotatably mounted on fixed centers in said ink fountain and drivingly coupled together, said fountain including a base arranged for mounting on the printing unit and transport means interposed between the base and the trough for bodily guiding the trough for movement having vertical and horizontal components between alternate positions in which the transfer roller is in rolling engagement with said ink drum and said ink roller respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,971,081 Newton et al Aug. 21, 1934 2,206,712 Babson July 2, 1940 2,330,359 Hill Sept. 28, 1943 2,350,580 Blackley et al June 6, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 454,954 Germany Jan. 20, 1928 

